Drummond Island Michigan

Drummond Island, the third largest freshwater island in the world, is located in Lake Huron at the eastern tip of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The 136 square mile Drummond was seeded with Seamans by a grandson of Caleb Seaman in 1853. This island, located at the juncture of three of the Great Lakes, became home for a long line of descendants of Daniel Murray Seaman, an early adherent to the Mormon religion.

A hundred years later, John T. Nevill wrote a series of articles about the Seaman family of Drummond Island and these were published in a local newspaper, The Evening News. The entire 1953 series of 17 articles is reproduced below. Thanks to the Chippewa County Genealogical Society for providing copies of the articles!

Installment 01 - The Name of Seaman is a Familiar One on Drummond
Installment 02 - King Strang Had Great Influence on Life of David Murray Seaman
Installment 03 - Believe No Seaman Living Today Is a Follower of Mormon Faith
Installment 04 - Many Are the Tales of How the First Seaman Came to Drummond
Installment 05 - Grandma Betsy Seaman Guided Destiny of Family in Early Years
Installment 06 - Sault Locks Were Being Started When Seamans Moved to Drummond
Installment 07 - Betsy Seaman and Her Boys Cut Wood for Early-Day River Tugs
Installment 08 - Indians Had an Influence On Early White Days on Drummond
Installment 09 - Celia Seaman Hill Was a Firm Believer in the Supernatural
Installment 10 - Seamans Married Into Historic Sault Family Founded by Famed J. Johnstone
Installment 11 - Sam Butterfield, Bearded Giant of a Man, Was another Patriarch of Family
Installment 12 - Three Youngest of D.M.’s Children Overshadowed the 13 Preceding Them
Installment 13 - The Bailey Clan Figures Prominently In Drummond Island’s Seaman Story
Installment 14 - Seamans’ Most Unspeakable Blow Was Ghouls’ Work at Grave Back In 1919
Installment 15 - Only Two Substantial Ties Remain Between Seaman And Bailey Families
Installment 16 - Era of Ludlow and D.M. Seaman Jr. Believed Family’s Most Interesting
Installment 17 - 15 Children Before Naming One Junior

Webmaster's note: While very interesting reading, these articles were written largely for their entertainment value and, although there are many facts and clues imbedded in the stories, they should not be considered to be source materials. The articles cover local history, family stories and perhaps, tall tales. Many of the stories that were recollected by family members are from tales told to them as children.